St. John’s College and The Forum Corporation have supplied the material for yet another book.
The Program in Eastern Classics, housed on the Santa Fe, New Mexico, campus of St. John’s, offers master’s degree candidates the opportunity to read and discuss great texts of ancient and medieval China, India, and Japan while studying classical Chinese or Sanskrit. As a graduate of the program, I can say that I’ve never learned more or had a better time learning. This book is dedicated to my tutors (the St. John’s term for professors), with an extra shout-out to Krishnan Venkatesh, who read and made important corrections to the Prologue.
Although the takeoff and touchdown were a little rough, my 23-year flight with Forum was, overall, a joy. My deep appreciation goes to firm founders John Humphrey and Richard Whiteley, along with the researchers and designers behind the original Influence training program and the myriad Forum alumni who know what a special place we were fortunate to be a part of.
Special thanks go to the experts in influence and Eastern cultures who made time for interviews and whose insights appear throughout these pages: Andre Alphonso, Bruce Thomas, Carin Gendell, Carol Kane, Christie Jacobs, Court Chilton, Daven Lee, Dick Meyer, Elizabeth Griep, Galina Jeffrey, Gurcharan Das, Helena Garlicki, Joan Bragar, John Humphrey, Keith Bronitt, Ken De Loreto, Maggie Walsh, Marian Thier, Mike Maginn, Molly McGinn, Paul Garces, Rasmus Hougaard, Shibani Belwalkar, Tracy Hulett, and Wesley Luo. My quotations of their words are inadequate to convey their wildly impressive accomplishments, talent, and wisdom.
Thank you to Alison Hankey and the whole Nicholas Brealey Publishing team for believing in The Art of Quiet Influence and shepherding it to publication.
Finally, as always: Immense love and respect to Matt and Emily. They have supported my studies, my weird ideas for books, and my Trader Joe’s gluten-free chocolate-chip cookie habit.